Is your Brother printer printing faded pages? Then read this article where we answer the question: “Why is my Brother printer printing faded?” We go further to give solutions to each possible reason for this Brother printer problem.
Table of Contents
Why Does My Brother Printer Print Faded [Why and Solutions]
The following are the most common reasons for your Brother printer faded print problems and how to solve them…
1. The Toner or Ink Level is Low
The first thing to do if you’re wondering: “How do I fix faded printing on my Brother printer?” is to check the toner or ink level. If your printer is already displaying the “Replace Toner” or “Toner Low” message then you need to replace the toner.
If it is not displayed but you suspect this is the issue, then you can check the ink or toner level. On your inkjet printer, you may either remove the ink cartridges and inspect them and check the ink level. Or, do the following…
Step 1: Press the “Menu” button on the printer.
Step 2: Scroll through the options with the “Up” and “Down” buttons. When the printer displays “Ink Management” press “OK”.
Step 3: Scroll through the options and press “OK” when “Ink Volume” is displayed on the screen. The ink’s status will be displayed.
If the ink level is low, then it should be replaced to solve the problem.
How to Replace Brother Printer Toner Cartridge
Do the following to replace your Brother printer toner cartridge…
Step 1: Ensure the printer is on, then, open the front cover.
Step 2: Take the drum unit and toner cartridge assembly out of the printer.
Step 3: Push down the green lever to remove the toner cartridge out of the printer.
Step 4: Get the new toner and unpack it.
Step 5: Put the new toner cartridge into the drum unit, ensure it clicks in place.
Step 6: Clean the corona wire inside the unit by moving the green tab back and forth severally. Make sure you take the tab to its initial position once you are done with the cleaning.
Step 7: Take the drum unit and toner cartridge assembly back to the printer and properly install it. Finally, close the printer’s front cover to its position.
How to Replace Brother Printer Ink Cartridge
Replace your Brother printer ink cartridge in the following steps…
Step 1: Open the door that covers the printer’s ink cartridge.
Step 2: Push down the colored levers and remove the ink cartridge to be replaced.
Step 3: Ensure the printer is switched on so that the printer will be able to detect the ink after installation.
Step 4: Put the new ink cartridge in the printer, insert the cartridge from the arrow label on it.
Step 5: When you install the ink cartridge, your printer will send a confirmatory message. For instance, “Did you change black?” Ensure to choose “Yes”.
Step 6: Close the ink cover door once you are done installing the cartridge ink.
Print any document. If the print is no longer faded then the problem has been fixed.
This Brother ink is compatible with the following Brother inkjet printers: MFC-J491DW, MFC-J497DW, MFC-J690DW, MFC-J895DW.
2. The Toner Save Mode is On
“Why is my printer printing faded?” complaint might arise if your printer’s toner save mode is on.
To rectify this, the toner save mode has to be turned off. Follow the steps below to do this…
Step 1: Press “Settings” and then select “All Settings”, choose “General Setup”.
Step 2: Use the Up and Down button to scroll and when “Ecology” is displayed, press “OK”.
Step 3: Use the Up and Down button to display “Toner Save” then press “OK”. Use the Up and Down button to select “Off” and then press “Home”.
3. The Primary Corona Wire is Dirty
The primary corona wire is inside the drum unit and has to be cleaned occasionally, especially after a toner change.
How to Clean Brother Printer Primary Corona Wire
Do the following to clean the primary corona wire…
Step 1: Press down the release button for the printer’s front cover and open it.
Step 2: Gently pull the toner and drum unit assembly out of the printer.
Step 3: Remove the toner cartridges from the drum unit.
Step 4: Gently slide the green tab back and forth a few times. This action will clean the corona wire. Ensure you take the tab back to its original position after you are done cleaning the corona wire.
Step 7: Shake each cartridge from left to right to evenly distribute the toner. Then reinstall it in the drum unit.
Step 8: Reinstall the toner cartridge and drum unit assembly in the printer and then close the printer’s front cover.
4. Drum Unit is Dirty
You may have a Brother laser printer faded printing problem if your drum unit is dirty.
In this case, do an automatic drum cleaning.
How to Do Automatic Drum Cleaning on Brother Printer
Do an automatic drum cleaning on your Brother printer in the following steps…
Step 1: Put the printer in “Ready Mode” by pressing the Exit or Stop button.
Step 2: Open the printer’s back cover. Next, open the cover of the manual feed slot.
Step 3: Simultaneously press the “Menu” and “Clear” buttons.
Step 4: Adjust the paper glides on the manual feed to match the paper size you intend to use.
Step 5: Feed one Letter size or A4 paper into the manual feed. Stop pushing the paper in when it touches the roller.
Step 6: The printer will start cleaning the drum. When it is done cleaning, the printer will go back to “Ready Mode”.
Print a document; if the print is clear then the problem has been solved. If the problem persists, then you may have to do a manual drum cleaning.
How to Manually Clean Brother Printer Drum Unit
Do the following to manually clean your Brother printer drum unit…
Step 1: Open the printer’s front cover then remove the toner and drum assembly. Place the assembly on any disposable cloth or paper.
Step 2: There is a green locking lever on your toner and drum unit assembly. Push this lever down to remove the toner from the assembly.
Step 3: Inspect the drum’s surface; if you find any sort of damage, then the drum unit has to be replaced. Go down to the “How to replace Brother printer drum unit” section of this article. If you do not find any damage, then continue to step 4.
Step 4: With the toner cartridge out, you will find a roller inside the drum unit. Use a clean cloth, an alcohol swab, or dip a cotton swab in isopropyl alcohol and gently clean the surface of the roller.
Step 5: Let the drum unit get dried before moving on to step 6.
Step 6: Shift the green tab at the surface of the drum unit back and forth severally. This action is to clean the corona wire that is in the drum unit. Ensure you take the tab back to the initial position.
Step 7: There are three metals by the toner cartridge and drum unit assembly’s side. These metals are in the shape of staples so you can easily identify them. Use a soft lint-free cloth to clean these metals as best as you can.
Step 8: Gently shake the toner cartridge and drum unit assembly back and forth about 5-6 times. This will make the toner get evenly distributed in the cartridge.
Step 9: Reinstall the toner cartridge back in the drum unit, and ensure it clicks back in place.
Step 10: Take the toner and drum unit assembly back to the machine and reinstall it. Close the printer’s front cover.
Step 11: Print out about 10 blank pages, this is to ensure that the surface of the drum becomes completely free of all debris.
Print any document to see if the problem is fixed. If it is not, then clean the drum unit again. If the problem persists afterward, then go to the next solution.
Watch this video for additional information on how to clean your Brother printer’s drum unit…
5. The Print Density is Set Too Low
Increase the print density of your Brother printer from the printer driver with the steps below…
How to Increase Print Density on Windows
Step 1: Click the start button and then select “Control Panel” and then select “Devices and Printer”.
Step 2: Select your Brother printer to bring out the printer’s properties and then select “Printing Preferences”.
Step 3: Select “Other Print Options” under the “Advanced” tab.
Step 4: Choose “Density Adjustment” and then click on the “Printer Default” option to uncheck it.
Step 5: Adjust the density level to +6. Then click on “OK”, “Apply”, then “OK” again.
How to Increase Print Density on Mac
Step 1: Open an application, like Apple TextEdit.
Step 2: Click on “File and Print”.
Step 3: “Printer and Preset” may be the only option to appear. In this case, click on “Show Details”.
Step 4: Select “Print Settings” from the drop menu.
Step 5: Click on the small arrow beside “Advanced” to expand the options.
Step 6: Choose “Density Adjustment” from the options. Then click on the “Printer Default” option to uncheck it.
Step 7: Adjust the density level to +6.
6. The Drum Unit is Defective
If your Brother printer printing issue is still unresolved at this point, then the drum unit may be damaged. Or, there may be a foreign item stuck in the drum unit. This problem is not covered by your warranty so you need to replace the drum unit.
The drum unit below is compatible with the following Brother printers: HL-L8250, HL-L8350, MFC-L8600, and MFC-L8850.
How to Replace Brother Printer Drum Unit
To replace your Brother printer drum unit, do the following…
Step 1: Ensure the printer is on and then open its front cover. Next, take the drum unit and toner assembly out of the printer.
Step 2: Remove the toner cartridge out of the assembly by pushing the green lever.
Step 3: Get the new drum and unpack it.
Step 4: Install the toner cartridge into the new drum unit and ensure it clicks in place.
Step 5: Put the toner cartridge and drum unit assembly back into the printer and then close the printer’s front cover.
Step 6: The drum counter has to be reset after the drum unit is replaced, do the following to do this:
i. Keep the printer on.
ii. Press the cancel button.
iii. Press down the Toner button for at least 5 seconds.
iv. Select “Drum” and finally press “Yes”.
One of these solutions should help solve your Brother printer printing faded issue. But, if the problem persists, you can contact Brother Support for further assistance.
Note: These solutions also apply to the following Brother printer printing problems: Brother printer faded on one side and Brother printer printing faded on the left side.
To read more awesome articles, click any of the links below…
My Brother Printer is Printing Black Pages [How to Fix]
Brother Printer Asking to Replace Toner [Solved]
How to Reset a Toner on a Brother Printer [Detailed Guide]
Brother Printer Toner Override [Solution]
My Brother Printer Won’t Scan [How to Fix]
Brother Printer Printing Faded Lines [Solutions] – Why is My Brother Printer Printing Faded
Do the following to increase your print quality and solve the issue of your Brother printer printing faded lines…
Step 1: If you want to copy then change your printer’s copy quality to “Best” by doing the following…
i. Load the document.
ii. Press “Copy” then input the desired number of copies.
iii. Press “Options”, then use the Up and Down buttons to scroll until the screen displays “Quality”, then press “OK”. (Some models may not need this step).
iv. Select “Best” and then press “OK”.
v. To change other settings, select “Black Start” or “Color Start”.
Step 2: Adjust the Paper Type setting.
From the Printer’s Control Panel
i. Press “Copy”
ii. Load the document.
iii. Input the desired number of copies.
iv. Press “Options”.
v. Use the Up and Down buttons until the screen displays “Paper Type”. Then press “OK” to select it.
vi. Scroll through the options and select either “Brother BP71”, “Inkjet Paper”, or “Other Glossy”.
Vii. Then press “OK” and then select “Black Start” or “Color Start”.
From the PC
Windows
Step 1: Click the start button and then select “Control Panel” and then select “Devices and Printer”.
Step 2: Select your Brother printer to bring out the printer’s properties and then select “Printing Preferences”.
Step 3: Click on the Basic tab and then look for the “Media Type” box. Click the arrow next to it so the drop down options will appear.
Step 4: If the selected setting is “Plain Paper”, then choose “Inkjet Paper”. If it is “Inkjet Paper”, choose “Other Photo Paper” or “Brother BP71 Photo Paper”.
Step 5: Click on the Advanced tab and look for the Color/Greyscale option. Click on “Color” to check it.
Step 6: Finally, click on “OK”.
Mac
Step 1: Open an application, like Apple TextEdit.
Step 2: Click on “File and Print”.
Step 3: Then click on “Show Details” if Printer and Preset” is the only option to appear.
Step 4: Select “Print Settings”.
Step 5: Click the drop down arrow beside “Media Type”.
Step 6: If the selected setting is “Plain Paper”, then choose “Inkjet Paper”. If it is “Inkjet Paper”, choose “Other Photo Paper” or “Brother BP71 Photo Paper”.
Step 7: Click the drop down arrow beside “Color/Greyscale”, then select “Color”.
Adjusting your print quality like this should solve the problem. But, if the problem remains unsolved, then the ink or toner being used may be the cause of the problem.
Brother recommends only genuine Brother toner and ink cartridges for their printers. Using third-party cartridges may affect your Brother printer’s hardware and print quality. Brother limited warranty does not cover any damage caused when you use third-party cartridges.
